Week Two

There's something to be said for spending time alone. Time to turn the rest of the world off. Time to process and exist.

I think that, in many ways, extroverts set themselves up for failure. We thrive on being right in the middle of everything, and often don't realize that it's too much until it's too late-- and then there we are, wondering why suddenly it's our single greatest calling to eat three quesadillas while we bingewatch the Kardashians.

When I first contemplated this week's list-- greatest comforts-- I defaulted to family. Family recipes, family traditions, family vacations. And it makes sense. Families are our support, our memories, our home. But let's face it-- there are many times that families elicit more stressors than comforts. The more I thought about it, the more it became obvious that the greatest comforts are those things that help us deal with the chaos in our lives. The coping strategies. The things that keep us sane in the midst the crazy.

e.g. Quesadillas and the Kardashians. No one ever said comforts = healthy life choices.

Some of the best money I've ever spent was on a trip to New York City the spring before I turned 20. I was in the midst of a lot of the crazy-- I was grappling with committing to a new major, I had just gotten into a new relationship, and I was about to move into my first adult apartment. I was transitioning, and overwhelmed. After spending tax return money on all of the responsible things I was supposed to, I had enough leftover to do something for myself. To turn the world off.

I spent four days in New York City. I had been many times before, but this time it was just for me. Four days where I didn't have to talk to anyone or do anything or be anywhere. I walked all over the city, took the train to places I'd never explored, ordered in and watched E! for hours in my hotel room, just because I could. It was one of the most liberating things I've ever done.

But the older I get, the more difficult it is to find the space to turn the world off. With a husband and a child and a career, disappearing for four days is no longer realistic. Disappearing for four hours is hardly realistic. But that space has to exist somewhere, if only for a little while. Under the guise of "running errands" so I can walk around Target for a while, going to school on a Sunday for the sake of silence, taking the long way home on purpose.

My comforts are the ways I manage the crazy, and I am so thankful for the family (and nap times) that give me the space to enjoy them. What are your greatest comforts? Link up with Moorea Seal and the 52 Lists project-- it isn't too late to catch up! 

Happy weekend :)

Happy Wednesday!

The Huffington Post recently published the story of my life an article about Type A personalities. It's fairly accurate.

And by fairly accurate, I mean they nailed it.

Happy Wednesday :)

Lessons in Third Grade

As we're approaching the midpoint of the school year, we took some time this morning to redraft our classroom norms. We call this list, "The Things That Make Our Classroom Work"-- less threatening than "Rules," right? Students suggested all the usual suspects-- "Follow directions," "Be respectful," "Work together." After we established five or six of these, they started to get kind of quiet, so I asked if anyone had any final suggestions. And then this conversation happened:

Third Grader #1: "How about, 'Make mistakes'?"

Third Grader #2: "Yea-- you told us at the beginning of the year that we would probably get a lot of B's and C's, and that's okay."

Third Grader #1: "Because we're still learning. Even if we don't get an A, we're still learning."

PREACH.

There's so much pressure on these kids to get A's. What does that even mean? This may come as a surprise to you, but I was (am) the quintessential straight-A student, and I can only recall a handful of those A's that I actually had to work for. Those are the only ones that mean anything. The A I earned in AP English, from the teacher who taught me that I could not, in fact, bullshit my way through her class; the A I earned from the professor who taught me how to pursue knowledge on my own terms, and inspired a love of learning in its purest form; the A's I earned from teachers and professors with high expectations and low tolerances for anything less than my best. 

The stakes are higher than ever-- Do you remember annotating texts or making PowerPoint presentations in third grade? I didn't think so. We tackle some pretty tough stuff! Most of my kids are averaging B's and C's, and I'm okay with it because it means that they are taking risks and learning new things. A's are hard-earned. But as far as I'm concerned, letter grades are irrelevant anyway-- its progress that really matters. It's about instilling a love for knowledge, and the aptitude to pursue it.

The first rule one of my sweet little hooligans suggested is another favorite, and something I hope that they will all take with them when they leave:

ALWAYS BE PROUD OF YOURSELVES, AND OF EACH OTHER.

The sign in the picture is a sweet gift I received today from one of my kids as a "thank you" for helping him become a better writer. Really, I don't think I had much to do with it. I set high expectations, and demanded his best. He made mistakes, and he learned from them. In the end, he had a piece of work he was really proud of. The best part? We reflected on his writing and he made a plan to do even better next time. 

Ownership. Progress. Pride. More than I could ever ask for, and more than any letter grade could possibly express.

_________________

"The kids in our classroom are infinitely more significant than the subject matter we teach."

[Meladee McCarty]

Week One

Happy 2014! It seems like a good (cliche?) time of the year to dust this thing off. One of my favorite bloggers linked up with the 52 Lists series, and it was exactly the inspiration I needed. Who doesn't love a good list? Considering my obsessive-compulsive (see also: crazy) tendencies, I was really excited to get on board!

"What are the words that touch your soul?" It seemed like kind of a pretentious question to answer at first, like I should be sipping a skim milk latte and wearing $50 sweatpants while I pondered my response. Not that there's anything wrong with either of those things-- roughly half my paycheck is spent at Dunkin Donuts, and I have a five-shelf organizer of every type of sweatpants known to man. It all just screams #whitegirlproblems.  But when I really thought about what the question was asking, it became real to me in a different way-- "What are the words that keep you going?"

Sometimes we all need to be reminded that we're doing okay. Persevere. Keep going.

________________

LOVE YOURSELVES, LOVE EACH OTHER.

[Dr. Chris Uhl]